The loser in the Gomba District Woman MP seat Betty Ssentamu has her appeal against the High Court’s decision that dismissed her election petition.
Ssentamu listed six grounds in her appeal, following the Mpigi High Court Judge Richard Wejuli Wabwire who dismissed her election petition for failing to pay the mandatory requisite court fees.
In his ruling, Justice Wabwire said that Ssentamu had only paid court fees of 100, 000 shillings instead of the required 150,000 shillings.
The petitioner was also faulted for failing to interpret for the witnesses in their affidavits. This prompted dismissal of the petition for failure to follow the legal procedures as provided for under the Election Petitions Act.
Wabwire’s ruling followed submissions in which the winner Sylvia Nayebale’s lawyers argued that Ssentamu failed to pay the court fees of 150,000shillings for the petition at the time she filed it.
The pitioner who was holding the National Unity Platform garnered 22,657 votes against Nayebale ‘s 30,253 votes. Ssentamu had accused Nayebale and the Electoral Commission of having falsified the results in Kasambya Parish in Kyayi Sub-county. She argued that the number of votes counted was not tallying with those on the declaration forms.
Ssentamu has now appealed against Justice Wabwire’s decision raising six grounds.
Through her lawyers of Lukwago and Company Advocates, Ssentamu says the Judge erred in law and fact when he held that the petition was not validly before the court for non-payment of sufficient filing fees and dismissed the same for non-payment of sufficient prescribed filing fees.
